Migault Sets New Program Record; Rankin Climbs Leaderboards at Day One of NC State Invite

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Army West Point swimming & diving completed day one at the NC State Invite on Thursday, highlighted by Aurelie Migault's performance in the 200 IM, in which she set a new Academy record in the event. The Black Knights lined up alongside North Carolina State, Arizona State, Virginia Tech and Duke which comprised the full field.

PRELIM RESULTS | FINALS RESULTS

Beginning with Migault, the decorated senior registered a time of 1:59.19 in the event, which moved her into first place on Army's all-time list, surpassing Meghan Cole's 2:00.14 mark which was set this past season. Migault had logged a time of 2:00.50 in the prelims which moved her into second place behind Cole, before clocking in under two minutes during the finals to place eighth in the event. She now holds the Academy record in the 200 IM, 100 breast and 200 breast, while being apart of the 400 medley relay team which also set the program-best last season.

Continuing in the 200 IM, Catriona Gilmore improved on her mark earlier this month against St. Bonaventure, posting a time of 2:03.63 while Melinda Zhang also rose to the occasion with a season-best 2:03.69 in the event.

In the 500 free, Molly Webber continued to pace the Black Knights, tabbing 14th-place with a 4:49.80 time, which is tops in the conference this season.

On the men's side, Kohen Rankin had a memorable performance in the 200 IM, setting a new career-best at 1:46.88, which was good for sixth on Army's all-time list while now leading all Patriot League swimmers in the event this season. Rankin finished ninth in the event while Alex Edwards broke through with a time of 1:47.40 in the prelims before tabbing 13th-place in the finals with a 1:47.61. Nathan Jao (1:48.96) and Sam Wesley (1:49.03) collected their low times of the season in the event and posted top-16 finishes.

"This is our third trip down to North Carolina for the NC State Invite and this by far the best start to the meet we've had," commented head coach Brandt Nigro. "We historically get a very slow start to this meet on Thursday morning, so we've been talking about the importance of being ready to go from the get go at big, high-level meets like this - if you don't swim fast in the morning, you don't get to swim at night. Our team stepped up and got the job done in the morning!"

Leading the way in the 500 free, Wes Tate boasted a season-best time of 4:26.47 to lead Army, with the time also marking the tops in the Patriot League this season. Brice Barrieault landed in the top-20 with season-low mark of 4:27.07 while the likes of Clayton Bearnauer (4:27.83), Ian Tansill (4:27.88), Jack Pogue (4:33.63) and Max Jordan (4:34.92) all recorded season-best times in the event. In the 50 free, Owen Harlow improved on his time from the St. Bonaventure meet, clocking in at 19:84 which led the Black Knights. Thomas Hadji and James Pinter also saw their season-bests with a 20.74 and 20.99, respectively.

In the men's 200 free relay, the quartet of Owen Harlow, Nathan Jao, Thomas Hadji and James Pinter logged a new season-best for Army in the event, with a new mark of 1:20.50 for a seventh-place showing. The women also saw a new low-time for 2023-24 in the 200 free relay, as Clara Williams, Roudy Mohamed, Tiana Mescher and Grace Wagner came in at 1:34.54.

Army's 400 medley relay also saw improvements, as the women (Migault, Layne Peterson, Webber and Zhang) set a new standard in the conference this season with a 3:39.94, finishing just under a second off the program record of 3;39.12. The men's side also finished strong in the event, with a time of 3:14.39 through Edwards, Harlow, Jao and Rankin.

"A couple of weeks ago we swam lights out at home vs. St. Bonaventure - I knew it would be tough to replicate many of those swims in the morning on no rest - but our team swam well and was able to match and even improve upon many of those performances" added Nigro. "At night, we continued to improve and race tough. We had many more season best swims and lifetime bests. Big shout out to Aurelie Migault for setting a new Academy Record and being the first person in AWSD history to go under 2:00 in the 200 IM. Now we've got 2 more full days to go so it's all about resetting, recovering, and getting a good night sleep!"

Army Top Finishers
200 IM: Aurelie Migault (1:59.19) - 8th
200 IM: Kohen Rankin (1:46.88) - 9th
500 Free: Molly Webber (4:49.80) - 14th
500 Free: Wes Tate (4:26.47) - 14th
50 Free: Tiana Mescher (23.70) - 33rd
50 Free: Owen Harlow (19.84) - 11th
200 Free Relay: Mescher, Smith, Wagner, Williams (1:34.54) - 11th
200 Free Relay: Hadju, Harlow, Jao, Pinter (1:20.50) - 7th
400 Medley Relay: Migault, Peterson, Webber, Zhang (3:39.94) - 8th
400 Medley Relay: Edwards, Harlow, Jao, Rankin (3:14.39) - 10th

Meet Notes
· Migault's time (1:59.19) in the 200 IM set a new Academy record and low mark in the Patriot League this season.
· Kohen Rankin moved into sixth on Army's all-time list in the 200 IM (1:46.88) which is tops in the conference.
· Molly Webber continues to pace the conference in the 500 free (4:49.80).
· Wes Tate moved into first in the conference in the 50 free (4:26.47).
· Owen Harlow posted the first sub-20 second 50 free in the Patriot League this season with his mark of 19.84.
· The Army women logged a season-best time in the 200 free relay (1:34.54).
· The men's 200 free relay also saw a season-best time of 1:20.50.
· The women's 400 medley relay came within a second of the program record with a 3:39.94 showing.

Army returns for a full slate of events on Friday including the 400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free, 100 Breast, 100 Back, 800 Free and 200 Medley Relay. The heat sheet for prelims can be found HERE with results live HERE.

Army West Point Athletics

Migault Sets New Program Record; Rankin Climbs Leaderboards at Day One of NC State Invite

Players Mentioned

Brice Barrieault

Meghan Cole

Alex Edwards

Catriona Gilmore

Thomas Hadji

Owen Harlow

Nathan Jao

Tiana Mescher

Aurelie Migault

Layne Peterson

James Pinter

Kohen Rankin

Ian Tansill

Wes Tate

Grace Wagner

Molly Webber

Sam Wesley

Clara Williams

Melinda Zhang

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